A Stronger Cardassia
by Contravene
Summary: These are the files of the interrogation of a Cardassian woman near the end of the Dominion war. Her brief interview tells the story of her life and recounts everything from the Bajoran occupation to the Damar Resistance.


Disclaimer: I claim no rights to Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and/or related programming and affiliates.

**The following are logs from the interrogation of the Cardassian Dr. Gilora by Cardassian Glinn Noret, representing the Dominion.**

**Preliminary knowledge of subject.**

**Daughter of officer and solder Glinn Mar. Father was relieved of duties during the occupation of Bajor for health reasons.**

**Father died at age twelve, suspected suicide. **

**Graduated from northern university specializing in medicine and theoretical science. **

**Stationed at Federation Outpost [Information Classified**

**Married Dr. Karnek**

**MIA**

**Recovered in Dominion rescue operation at Maquis outpost.**

**Charges:**

**6 counts of murder in the first degree [Jem'Hadar**

**2 counts of murder in the first degree [Breen**

**1 account of sabotage**

**3 accounts of treason**

**Interrogation**

**Questioning beginning at oh, five hundred hours. I am Glinn Noret of the Cardassian government, joined by two Vorta, aptly unnamed for internal reasoning. I'm questioning Dr. Gilora with requested lack of force. Dr. Gilora has, for the record, agreed to share her story of her involvement with the Damar Resistance. For the record, with the subject please state her name?**

Yes. Dr. Gilora, daughter of Glinn Mar.

**Thank you, now what information have you of the Damar Resistance.**

Actually, if I may, since I'm due for execution, was wondering if I may relate my entire story to you.

**That won't be necessary.**

Oh, I believe it will be, so you may better understand my motives.

**[Interrogator glances at one of the Vorta who gives a simple nod All right. Continue as you please.**

Thank you.

Unlike what many may believe, I do not remember the occupation much. I recall the nightly broadcasts that spread all across Cardassia. I don't remember when we occupied Bajor, since it was long before I was born. But by the time I could sustain a memory, I remember nightly reports of fighting on the Bajoran home world. At first, I didn't understand it. As a child, I thought the Bajorans had always worked for us. I simply thought of them as servants that worked the planet surface. I didn't know about the death camps, the starvation, the slaughters or executions. I could not understand why they were fighting. I couldn't understand who these resistance fighters were, or why they fought. Didn't we give them homes and reward them for cooperation? I thought we gave them work on the surface, mining minerals and working on Terok Nor over head.

When I was seven, I heard about a large assault on Bajor. They killed four Cardassians. It was eleven against four. When I heard the Bajorans involved were to be executed, as a child, I remarked with a simple, "Good." My father slapped me across the face.

He had once been high in the military, but had since fallen greatly in rank and respect after four days alone, supposedly dead, on Bajor. I was never allowed details of the event as a child, but since, he'd been dismissed from duty, and spent his days on disability, drinking away his anger in a bottle of Kanar.

When I made my remark on the prisoners, he hit me, and then grabbed me and yelled at me.

"This war is wrong!" he'd say, marching about our house, "I've seen the camps! I've seen the children! I've seen!"

Before he could continue, or go into detail, my mother would take him aside.

"Not in front of our daughter." She'd say, "Not in front of Gilora."

When I was twelve, he killed himself, but not before he'd taught me that the war we waged with the Bajorans was wrong. I still didn't know quite why. I was beginning to realize that Bajor had been their world that we had captured. I learned about their tireless work, but I still could not grasp the true horrors that happened on the planet. That wasn't until after my father's official memorial, when I was presented with his memoirs. For two months, I avoided reading them for two months. I wanted to believe in a strong Cardassia, a true Cardassia. I wanted to believe we were the supreme force of the Alpha Quadrant. I wanted to believe we were revered. I didn't want to give into the rumors of a weakness to the mighty Federation, nor did I want to believe a mere Bajoran was capable of taking down a trained Cardassian soldier.

But eventually, my curiosity did me in. I recall walking with the PADD to my quarters, and how my mother sank at the table as I did. She watched me cross the room with that gaunt face that I will always remember. I watched that face, those eyes, as I walked into my room, and locked the door behind me. Even once I was inside, I didn't want to read it, but soon, I was huddled up in my bead, bundled in a blanket. I started to read.

**[The following in the log of Glinn Mar of the Cardassian Army**

'Personal Entry, Mar.

'It's probably and hour or two just after dawn. It feels like my head was hit with a rock. It probably was. I'll try to piece together what happened. It was just past twenty-one hundred hours at the camp. Those of us patrolling the evening shift were now beginning to ease up, and allow the night watch to take over. The area had been quiet for three weeks, and we lagged in our response and responsibilities. Gun fire broke out. We were ambushed by, perhaps, thirty or so Bajoran resistance fighters. We held base but when they swarmed the camp, we had no choice by to retreat. They were merciless. I stayed and fought, watching my comrades and friends die next to me. I tried to block it out of my mind, but when the ranks were low and there was no place to turn, I took off on foot.

'I attempted to communicate back up, and give a location, but was unable to. I then saw a bright light, like nothing I'd seen before, and then darkness. Now that I think on the incident, I've decided it was likely a phaser blast. Remarkably, it didn't kill me, but noting the wound at the side of my head, I'm assuming it grazed my skin. I will attempt to regain communication with the Cardassian government. There is a settlement camp, perhaps, fifty kilometers west of my platoons camp. I'll start heading in that direction. Luckily, my navigational equipment is working properly.

'Entry closed.

'Personal Entry, Mar.

'It's mid evening. I ran into a Bajoran earlier today. He looked like a kid. He was nothing but flesh and bone, carrying a canon of a phaser rifle. He was scared of me, as I knew he would be. I ordered him to drop his weapon, only he didn't respond. After a brief stand off, I shot the boy and left the body. A part of me is regretting that. Not killing the boy. He might've been scared and he might've been young, but the fact is, he hated me and wanted to kill me. Had I not fired, he would have. I only wish I hadn't left the body there. Leaving it seemed so… indecent. Then again, these are indecent people.

'I've found no more traces of resistance fighters, but I haven't been looking either. The sooner I get to the camp, the better. I can only hope'

'Personal Entry, Mar.'

'It has been four days since my last entry, and I apologize for this inconsistency and the way the last entry abruptly ended. I should clarify what has happened. I was ambushed by a band of resistance fighters. I can only assume they had tracked me from the night before. Killing that boy and leaving him there simply left a trail. There were too many at once. I fired several times, only the few shots missed. There were too many. I expected them to kill me, so you can imagine my surprise when I came to.

'I found myself in a small camp behind the mountains. My arms and legs were bound. I was stripped of my weapons. There was a man in the center, who seemed to be running the organization. His name was Jael. He beat me something fierce, and I was impressed that such a small Bajoran could have so much fight. He asked me about my platoon, about the Cardassian government. I offered no reply. I sat there, for nearly two days, mocking him, laughing at his foolish attempts to break me. I was a strong Cardassian soldier.

'He managed to knock me into unconsciousness. When I came to, it was nightfall, and I was being guarded by a smaller number than before. One of the guards was a young woman, probably not even twenty. I laughed and asked her why she was fighting in this resistance. What purpose could a mere woman have in this fight? Why did she fight? What was her story? She then, related to me a story about her family. To be honest, I wasn't much interested at first. But she told me her mother had been taken away when she was a child. She told me about the containment camps and how her father was gunned down when they tried to escape to join the resistance. As far as she knew, she was an orphan.

'I am trained, specifically, for resistance containment. I've never sat foot inside one of our camps and never intend to. To be frank, I was offended by her accusations. The mindless slaughter, the beatings and cruelties were beneath us. We are Cardassians, and we do not need to belittle our morals to gain power. But something kneaded inside of me, but I chose to suppress it. I spent the rest of the time quietly, until the small group returned.

'Many were injured, carried on the backs of their comrades. I remained silent, watching them as they tended to their casualties, and send information back and forth like a small army. As the camp died down, I fell asleep. I said nothing else, and they hardly gave notice to my presence. I assumed, come morning, they would execute me. It was a petty revenge for the lives they lost by foolishly running into battle. They wanted to play soldier and look where it got them.

'The Bajorans didn't wake me. It was the sounds of screams and phaser fire. When I opened my eyes, we had invaded the camp. They chased down any resistance fighters they saw, and walked into tents where the women and children slept. It was this level of cruelty I'd only heard of in myth on the battle field. I'd been lucky enough to never face this situation, and had only needed to fire on those who threatened me. They took no prisoners. There were no survivors. Of a group I estimated to be thirty, all died.

'I was taken on a transport to the containment camp. I said little to nothing of the experience, trying to erase my memory of the slaughter. A day later, we arrived at the containment camp.

'I saw a large man beating a child when we entered, and that was only a glimpse of the rumored cruelties. I was bewildered by what I saw. The people were barely fed, and looked like the slightest breeze would break them in two. They worked nonstop, eve the children carrying buckets of rocks and minerals. There was a pit being filled, all with fresh Bajoran corpses. They simply dumped them all in, like they were waste. I couldn't understand. These were the horrors that the Bajoran woman had told me about. Like an arrogant fool, I dismissed it and ignored her.

'Now all I can think about is that young woman, and my own daughter, Gilora. True, Gilora is barely a year of age, but I kept wondering if her mother was taken, and I were to die when she is so young? What if she had been that girl and what kind of life would she live? This occupation, these deaths, these labors are wrong. I was outnumbered, and instead of killing me, they captured me. They fed me. They even spoke to me. We've been looking down our noses at these people we took from their homes and lives, for what? What have we to prove by conquering a people much weaker than us? What have we-'

'Entry closed.'

**[This concludes the log of Glinn Mar.**

**[Glinn Mar was soon after relieved of duty due to mental health. He was placed in disability and family provided with duty pay for the remainder of his life. All other documents of Glinn Mar's experience were deleted from records, with the exception of this log, which remained encrypted and hidden until his death.**

I sat in my room, stopping at that sentence. There was nothing after that. No more notes, no more dialog. I searched the memory of the PADD, hoping to find more information, some little string of data that had been left out There was nothing left. I skimmed over bits of the logs, almost unable to believe what I was reading. Since that day my father slapped me as a small girl, my view on the Cardassian government was skeptical. However, I had been raised, believing in Cardassia. I believed in a strong, superior and righteous Cardassia, and almost instantaneously, that view was shattered. It was almost as though my gods had been taken away from me, and in that moment, everything changed.

I didn't speak for two days. I received many letters and sympathetic words in regards to my father's death, and as always, I continued my studies and activities through a fog of my own thoughts. When I finally did speak, it was at a quiet dinner with my mother, and I broke into tears, I cried and yelled, and screamed, and ranted about how wrong we were. I was devastated, and ended up going to my room without touching my food. I laid on my bed, sobbing through the pillows. I didn't want to believe it, and I didn't want to admit it to myself, but I had. I did.

My mother told me to keep my opinions silent, which baffled me. I knew she believed Cardassia was wrong, and I knew she believed as my father had, and as I did, yet here she told me not to speak on it. She told me to bite my tongue. It was unfair. It was unjust. But I did as told. I spent the several years of my life in near silence. I did as I was told, became a scientist, and even watched as my mother remarried and high ranking Gul. I felt like ripping out his tongue, every night I heard him boast about the superior Cardassia, and speak of the execution of Bajoran prisoners like it was nothing. I never said anything., though every fiber of my being burned.

When I was twenty, and had begun a fair and stable career as a scientist, I was working off of Cardassia on a space station. The outpost was small, and mainly focused on science, and run almost entirely by the federation. I was among two Cardassians aboard the station. The other was my friend, Karnek. Though he was stubborn and anal about his experiments, he shared my enthusiasm for discovery and technology. We used to stay up late in the lab, discussing quantum mechanics, and the comparison of string timeline to circular, or loop theory. It wasn't long until we developed a relationship.

I can honestly say those were the happiest years of my life. From twenty, until I was twenty-five, I lived among a vast variety of species. When I was twenty-four, the war between Cardassia and Bajor ended, and the occupation was lifted. It was only a matter of months later I was to be transferred to Bajor as medical personal. Karnek asked me to marry him before I left, and I agreed to do so upon my return.

When I arrived on Bajor, my father's logs from his soldier days came back to me in an instant. Though I had imagined the carnage he described, seeing it first hand was something else entirely. I was supposed to oversee the injured and sick in the evacuation of the camps, and I had the thought I would be serving the Bajorans. I saw this as an opportunity to partially make amends for the chaos and carnage that took place during the occupation. But when I was treating dehydrated Cardassians and small and minor injuries, I was offended. I did my work though, and counted down the months until I'd see Karnek again. I wanted nothing more than to go back to Cardassia, get married, and get away from these death camps. I was still angry with the Cardassian government, almost ashamed of my heritage. However, with the end of the war, I saw hope for ner and better Cardassia, and hoped this would be the end of the bloodshed.

After eighteen months, I was allowed to return to Cardassia. I visited my mother and told her of my wedding plans. Two weeks later, Karnek came to the home world on leave, and we were married. After two more weeks to ourselves, we were transferred back to the federation outpost, now as husband and wife.

**So, at this point, you were still patriotic.**

At a point, yes. I had been raised to believe in a stronger Cardassia, and I'd never wanted to lose that belief.

**Did your husband share your views?**

Karnek was aware of my opinions and agreed with them to an extent. He did believe the occupation was poorly handled, but he had a stronger sense of patriotism than I did.

**Did you ever consider moving back to Cardassia after the occupation?**

Not at first, but over the next two or three years, things started to change drastically. Terok Nor was claimed by the Federation and Bajor, and was renamed Deep Space Nine. This was the first sign of a drastic change. Not long after, the Bajoran spiritual leader, Kai Opaka, left the Alpha Quadrant. She was soon replaced by Kai Winn, who was Kai during the negotiations and signing of the Bajoran, Cardassian peace treaty. But then, something happened that sent ripples through the wake of balance.

It was soon approved for Cardassian officials and people to move onto Federation colonies. They were allowed to police certain provinces and it wasn't long for people to tie the past in with the present. That was then Maquis first appeared.

**What did you think of the Maquis?**

Honestly? I didn't blame them in the least bit. The intention of the Cardassian government had not been to occupy parts of the Federation, but we had done so in the past. Forty years earlier, we'd arrived at Bajor, claiming to be on a mission of peace before enslaving and torturing their people. However, I had no desire to openly support them or do anything about he situation. I simply followed my mother's advice to keep quiet about it. I discussed it with Karnek. He, surprisingly, understood and recognized my views on the Cardassian government, and though he disagreed with some of what I said, we never fought about it.

The Dominion War brought changes I couldn't imagine. Our alliance with the Federation was discussed every day. Cardassians, Star Fleet and Bajorns all working together, it was remarkable. I was given the blessed opportunity to travel to Deep Space Nine with Karnek. Though we were mostly on board the station to pay a visit, we were immediately greeted by Benjamin Sisko and Kira Nerys. Neither were as I expected, and greeted us kindly on our arrival. It was a hail from Star Fleet that pulled Sisko away while Kira gave us a tour of the station. It was nearly impossible for me to believe it had once been a station constructed for the labor of Bajoran ore workers. I was further surprised it was, in fact, a Bajoran giving us a tour!

Near the end of the tour, I felt dizzy. I ignored it and dismissed it as exhaustion. I'd barely eaten before we left he Federation outpost, and had sat in a shuttle much longer than I would've liked. But after another two days on Deep Space Nine, it only got worse, along with the feeling of nausea. Karnek and I had our suspicions of my condition, which was confirmed by one Dr. Bashir, the chief medical doctor on the station. I was pregnant.

We celebrated the news and were given and additional week of leave. We thought nothing of it, and chose to stay on station. We spent the time ignoring politics and news from Cardassia. We indulged in their holosuits and spent time with members of their science staff. We particularly spent time with Dr. Bashir and Jadzia Dax, discussing new approaches in our experiments. That was, until the Dominion ambush.

In the chaos we were rushed aboard one of the escape pods and ran a gauntlet of gunfire. We were unfortunate. Our pod was left adrift for a week that I cannot remember. We had little to no life support left. When our pod was hit, many of the occupants died, including Karnek and our unborn child. When I came to, I was in a facility, surrounded by a vast variety of species. All I could think about what Karnek, if he was all right. I was quickly told about his death, and the death of my unborn child. As soon as I was able to stand, I found myself with a gun to my head. I was asked why I had left Deep Space Nine.

When I explained about the Dominion attack and the evacuation, they asked if I was aware that Deep Space Nine was now Terok Nor, and had been reclaimed by the Cardassian government. I told them I was aware of this, and then asked again why I had left.

**Why did you leave?**

Because it was a shady thing to do. They turned their backs on an ally to join the Dominion. Cardassia was claimed by Gul Dukat, the very man who lead the occupation in its final days. Cardassia hadn't changed! We were just as vile as before. Just as low and just as cowardly.

They took the gun away from my head, and I realized I was among the Maquis. I was quickly told the outpost I'd been working out was seized by the Cardassian government, and even if it hadn't been, the likely hood of a safe transfer with the Maquis to a Federation base would be highly unlikely. I decided to stay with the Maquis and fight the good fight.

**You turned against your own people?"**

I turned against the Dominion. I wasn't Federation and had no way of joining them. It was the only option at time. Contrary to what you may think, I do not think Cardassia or it's people are evil. I am Cardassian and I am not evil. I even married a Cardassian, and he wasn't evil. There are good people on Cardassia, honest people. It's the government, the military I don't agree with. Like I said before, I want to believe in a strong Cardassia, a Cardassia for tomorrow. I want to believe that there is still hope for Cardassia.

However, I also believed the Dominion to be a threat to all life in the Alpha Quadrant. I never believed a Cardassian, Dominion Alliance would put Cardassia back at the top. If anything, I now saw Cardassia suffocated by Dominion rule, the first of many potential planets to give in and yield to the infallible Founders. I never fought or killed another Cardassia when I was with the Maquis. It was the Jem'Hadar I focused on. I became quite a skilled resistance fighter in those few brief months. That was, until the Jem'Hadar raid of the outpost. Everyone was killed, except for me. I had been sleeping when they came, and had just come to my feet when I was stunned by phaser blast.

When I woke up, I was on a Dominion ship, with a strange man looking down at me. I specifically remember his beady little eyes and his long ears. He asked me what I remembered, and I assumed he meant the of the Jem'Hadar attack. I told him I remembered nothing. He later assumed I had been captured by the Maquis and was liberated by the Jem'Hadar. I didn't realize this until I was back on Cardassia, at my mother's house. When I realized the error, I explained to my mother I had been a member of the Maquis and instantly inquired to their safety. I was then told they had all been killed, or rather, slaughtered, by the Jem'Hadar.

**What did your mother do?**

She told me to keep my mouth shut and never talk about my experience with the Maquis again. I never did tell anyone, until just now, about my involvement. I cried my first few weeks back on Cardassia. I told my mother about Karnek, and how close she'd come to be a grandmother. I told her about Deep Space Nine and my work in the camps and on the outpost. All I could do was cry.

Despite my misery, some good soon came through. The day I received word that Deep Space Nine had been reclaimed by Benjamin Sisko, I cried tears of joy. I even put in a request to visit and aide the station, but I never received a reply. Gul Dukat soon fell from power, to be replaced by Gul Damar. The Federation was slowly making headway against the Dominion. Though I privately hoped for a Federation victory, I hoped that Gul Damar would be more sensible than Dukat and do what was necessary to end this Dominion alliance. The Dominion was falling behind. That was, until the wormhole closed.

I never believed in the Prophets, or Bajoran mythology. However, it was a deeply spiritual matter for those involved with Deep Space Nine and Bajor. With the absence of Benjamin Sisko, the battle became almost hollow. I remember when I received word of the death of Jadzia Dax. I recalled the weeks Karnek and I had spent with her during our stay on Deep Space Nine.

**So during this time, you were still on Cardassia.**

Yes. I never left.

**How did you become involved in the Damar resistance?**

[Gilora now smiles for the first time since her questioning began How could I now become involved[She returns back to her stoic self After the wormhole reopened, and Cardassians started taking heavy casualties, there were signs in the government that Damar was losing his interest in Dominion policies. Especially after the Dominion alliance with the Breen. When Damar separated himself from the Dominion, and broadcasted himself across the Alpha Quadrant, I actually stood up and cheered. I think I even saw my mother crack a smile.

**Does her husband know of her views on the Dominion?**

No. But since the war, and even before the war, he's been so tied up in the military, he's hardly given her notice. She keeps her mouth shut, something I should probably do more often.

**So what happened after you learned of the separation between Damar and the Dominion?**

I waited, of course. No use into rushing into battle. I started looking for people who agreed with my views. If you go to any bar or market on Cardassia, you can always find people in opposition with the government. Reports started coming in, privately, about Damar's resistance fighters. I soon had my own band, and we were prepared for war. It was the first time I felt like the strong and triumphant Cardassian I've been raised to be. We stood in adversity, not separated by sex, province or rank, and we worked together. You may call us terrorists but I call us patriots.

I won't go into detail on the planning, so don't waste your breath asking. But we managed to bomb a few communications buildings and sabotage a few Dominion transports of Jem'Hadar Ketracel White. We were very successful until two days ago.

**That was when you were captured.**

That is correct.

**And you understand this state, as of this moment, is legally under the rule of the Dominion?**

Absolutely.

**I'm not sure how closely you've paid attention to reports, but Damar was killed several weeks ago.**

That's what your reports say, sure.

**Under Dominion and Cardassian law, you understand that you are guilty of the sabotage of a Dominion shipment, first degree murder of six Jem'Hadar soldiers, along with three Breen, terrorism and treason?**

That's quite a list, but yes.

**And you file no contest.**

That is correct.

**[The interrogator shifts in his seat before speaking On a personal level, may I ask why?**

Why? Because I believe in a stronger Cardassia. Because I believe we have the potential to be a great force in this quadrant without belittle ourselves. Because I believe in right and wrong and because I believe in men like my father. Damar may or may not be dead, but his ideas and his actions will never die. You can execute me, and every other man or woman I fought with, but that idea is out there. And that idea will spread like an infection until it is out of your control.

I am proud to be the Cardassian I am today, and if I'm to die for that, so be it.

**[End data**

**Final notes:**

**Dr. Gilora was executed in 2376, specific date with held.**

**Noted: Dr. Gilora was executed on board a Dominion ship only seven hours before the surrender of the Dominion to the Federation. **

**Her case is being studied in full by the Cardassian government. **


End file.
